


The Caves

by orphan_account



Series: Homesick [4]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Exploring, Gen, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Wilson sets out to find the perfect place to build his machine.
Series: Homesick [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617172
Kudos: 10





	The Caves

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so to those new to my writing, I recommend you read the previous parts of this series to get a proper understanding of what the hell Wilson is doing in the caves and just to generally understand the plot a bit better.   
> Another note to those new to my writing, I kind of write Wilson to be a bit more self-absorbed and egotistical, mostly thinking of himself over others. Interpreting characters differently is fun lol.

Wilson never much liked the caves. Nonetheless, if he wanted to build up his magnificent creation, he would have to venture there. Wilson was no coward, he was a magnificent scientist! The caves wouldn’t be an issue, no matter how scary, dark, and littered with creatures it was.

As Wilson finished walking down the long staircase that led into the caves, he pulled his miner hat out of his backpack and slipped it onto his head, it turning on. The bright, yellow light the hat emitted would surely be enough to last him a while and if it wasn’t, he had plenty of light bulbs to spare.

Wilson was going to look for the perfect spot to start building up his machine. He planned for it to be an area far away from where the other survivors went to pick light bulbs and preferably an area with little to no monsters. That couldn’t be too hard, could it? Just find an area with no cave entrances, light bulbs, or creatures living around it.

Closing his backpack and slipping it onto his shoulders, Wilson began to explore the wonders that were the caves. Quickly, Wilson found the caves were more dangerous than he initially thought, or at least it felt like it was. The constant darkness that surrounded Wilson made him nervous. At any moment, some creature could jump out at Wilson and kill him quickly and he didn’t exactly have a life giving amulet on him.

Wilson found himself in a relatively friendly looking area. Large, carrot-shaped houses surrounded a smaller area with nothing but a few grass tufts and small, actually edible carrots. The strange, dim light coming from above the area was a very welcomed change. The last thing Wilson wanted was to be bumping into gigantic vegetable hutches in the dark.

Despite the kind appearance of the area, Wilson still greatly exercised caution. He quietly and cautiously sauntered over to one of the large houses. Running his hand along the wall of the shelter, Wilson found the texture to be surprisingly similar to that of an actual carrot. It felt bumpy, cold, and a little bit rough. 

As he examined the fake, oversized vegetable, he heard the door to it open. Someone  _ lived _ in these houses?

Wilson stared up at the homeowner. They were a tall, fluffy bunny. They had a thick layer of fur on them and a huge smile on their face. The vibrant red of their small, beady eyes unnerved Wilson, as did the strange anatomy of their body. They had a hunchback, though that didn’t bother Wilson as much as the fact that the upper body of the bunny creature was so much larger than their lower body. Their legs were short, thin, and stubby. How they could possibly hold up the rest of their body bewildered Wilson. The arms of the creature were much fatter around their shoulders, but the lower part of their arms and hands were much thinner.

Wilson could hear the sounds of the doors to other hutches opening, but he remained staring at this one large bunny. The bunny stared back at Wilson, smile still wide. All was calm until the bunny sniffed the air.

“ _ MEAT! _ ”

The bunny screeched, moving their face closer to Wilson’s before trying to bite at it. Taken aback, Wilson fell backwards. He could hear the screams of various rabbits as they all began hopping towards him.

Wilson quickly jumped to his feet, beginning to sprint in the opposite direction of the rabbit creatures. “PEACE, PEACE, SHOW MERCY!” he yelled as the oversized bunnies began to chase him. 

Wilson slipped his backpack off, holding it in his hands. Opening it, he scavenged through the bag until he finally found what he wanted. “MEAT? YOU WANT MEAT? HERE’S MEAT!” pulling a small, stale chunk of morsel from his backpack, he threw it in the direction of the creatures chasing him.

That only infuriated the bunnies more.

Wilson made a quick right turn, dashing in the new direction to try and lose the bunnies. He felt like he had been running forever before the bunny creatures finally gave up on him and began to hop in the opposite direction.

Sighing in relief, Wilson stopped and sat down to catch his breath. He was happy that he lost the bunnies but he was still kind of puzzled about what just happened. He made a mental note to never go around the large rabbits while he had meat on his person.  _ That was exhausting, _ Wilson thought to himself. _ I need to be more careful. I’ll rest here awhile and then find a more… peaceful area to set up. _

The area was dark, only the light of Wilson’s hat illuminating it. Nonetheless, the area’s quietness led Wilson to believe that it was safe and possibly uninhabited. The idea of safety within the caves made Wilson feel more relieved than it should have.

Opening his backpack, he took out a handful of juicy berries, hoping the food would help sooth his nerves a little more. Popping one of the white berries into his mouth, he savored it's tart, sweet, yet slightly sour taste. The sweet berry did little to help him remain calm but the taste did leave him feeling somewhat satisfied for a few short seconds.

Wilson put berry after berry into his mouth as he began thinking about where he was. The miner hat shone little light and darkness surrounded him in all directions but Wilson felt this area, if uninhabited, was much safer than the area of strange rabbit creatures that despised all things meat, if his newly formed theory was correct.

Shovelling another handful of juicy berries from his backpack, he shoved the whole handful into his mouth. Wilson felt that eating was a good distraction from the little voice in the back of his head telling him he could he in danger. The possibility of encountering something dangerous in this area was low. Surely if there was something dangerous around, it would have attacked Wilson by now.

Swallowing his berries, Wilson took the miner hat off of his head to refuel it with some light bulbs he had packed for the trip. When he finished refueling the hat, he tossed his remaining bulbs back into his backpack and slipped the pack over his shoulder. Putting his miner hat back on, he stood up. May as well do a bit of exploring while he’s in this new area.

Wilson scouted the area thoroughly, though he found little to nothing aside from the occasional clump of grass or foliage. He also occasionally saw a strange plant with what seemed to be a glowing cyan berry hanging off of it. Nonetheless, he intended to scout the area twice to make sure he was completely safe and decided he would pick up the items he had seen during his second search.

The area was relatively small and Wilson almost considered leaving but he was quick to decide against the idea when he realized that he should be grateful that he had found this sacred, calm area and he should probably stick around for a while. This area could be very optimal for Wilson to build his machine in. It was clearly much safer than the previous area he had been in and it seemed very possible that this area was completely unpopulated.

As Wilson began to inspect the area a second time, he picked up various tufts of grass and foliage, shoving it all carelessly into his backpack. The process got boring for him quickly but Wilson was sure he could use the extra rope for something. As for the foliage, he would probably just leave it all out to rot when he got back to the surface. He could always use the spare rot, afterall. 

While collecting the resources, Wilson stumbled upon one of the glowing, cyan berries he had seen earlier. He had never exactly seen anything like it. It hung off a dark blue stem. The large, odd shape of the berry made it look a bit less appetizing but nonetheless, Wilson was sure the strange berry would have some kind of use, even if it may not be a culinary one.

Wilson wrapped his hand around the oversized berry. It felt oddly rubbery. Giving an experimental tug, Wilson was quick to notice that the action only made the ground beneath him rumble a bit. And did he hear a growl? Odd.

Wilson, puzzled and a little nervous, slowly began to back away from the berry. The ground gave another rumble before a long, purple creature popped out from the ground. The creature looked like some kind of strange, fuzzy worm. They had rough looking purple fur all over their body and large, chapped violet lips. They bared their large, razor sharp teeth for Wilson to see. On the head of the creature was the berry Wilson had wanted.

As the creature reached out to bite Wilson, he sprang into action, quickly turning on his heel and sprinting in the opposite direction of the furry worm. He groaned in annoyance as he ran. He wasn’t as scared as he was annoyed. He should have expected this. Even if the area did seem safe, he shouldn’t have let his guard down.

The creature dug themself into the ground, though Wilson knew they would still surely be hot on his trail. Wilson found it harder to sprint quickly with the constant rumbling of the ground beneath him but he did his best to manage. If he stopped, the creature would surely catch up to him. They may even erupt from under Wilson and attack him if he were to stop running. While Wilson’s lungs did burn desperately for air, he would much rather keep running than get eaten alive by a gigantic, fuzzy purple worm.

Wilson had no clue where he had even run to and he had no time to check his map. He honestly did want to pull the rusty scroll of paper from his backpack to possibly help guide himself to a safer area but with the worm made a move before he could even consider doing so. The oversized, fuzzy worm erupted from the ground right underneath Wilson, trying to bite his right leg. Practically leaping away from the creature’s jaws, Wilson screeched.

Just barely landing on his feet, Wilson began to run once again, fear and adrenaline coursing through him. Though he attempted to keep his focus on what was in front of him, he did occasionally take a few glances at what was around him. As he passed more and more places, he found himself running a little slower and getting even more distracted by his surroundings. 

Not paying attention to where he was going, Wilson suddenly felt his body slam into something squishy and slimy, yet somehow dense enough to make Wilson’s head throb with pain. Wilson slid to the ground, head and body still against whatever he had bumped into. The longer he was in these caves, the more he despised them. 

Mentally preparing himself for the worm creature to come up and kill him, Wilson pulled himself away from the obstacle, though he remained sitting in front of it. Looking down at his arms, he saw they were covered in a clear, thick fluid. It felt cold, sticky, and it was a very ugly shade of yellow-green. Disgusting, it probably ruined his clothes too. Welp, there went Wilson’s attempt to look professional.

Wilson’s jaw went slack when he looked up to see what he had bumped into. Before him stood a tentacle as tall as a mountain and as thick as a forest. Though Wilson was very much curious about the gigantic appendage, he decided he had definitely had enough run-ins with the terrifying monsters of the caves for one day. Surely, he could come back another time to examine this tentacle, preferably when he had the proper armor and weapons to fight it in the event that it was aggressive towards him.

Wilson stood, looking around to see if he could spot the oversized worm that had been hunting him before. Strangely, Wilson found no signs of the creature. No glowing berry, no ground rumbling, no anything. Maybe they had given up on Wilson? Whatever, Wilson didn’t care where they went, as long as they weren’t chasing him anymore.

Though his head was in a considerable amount of pain, Wilson began to walk once again, deciding he would figure out if his head had sustained any noteworthy damage later, though he doubted it did. At this point, he just wanted to find the perfect spot to begin building his creation and then leave as soon as possible. He had literally no idea how long he had been down here and if he was gone for too long, he knew someone would suspect something, particularly Maxwell. If Maxwell found out anything, Wilson would be so screwed.

Taking his map from his backpack, Wilson stared at it as he walked. He never understood how it expanded and changed with every step he took, recording his every move. Nonetheless, he did find it easier than having to take the time to draw and write down everything onto the map. He stared down at the map as he continued to explore the caves.

It was a long, long while before Wilson found anything of interest again. There was no danger in the areas he had recently come across but they didn’t seem too fit for building in. After exploring long enough, he came across a small area that was illuminated by some kind of large light above it. The light puzzled Wilson slightly, as he couldn't see the source of it.

There were trees, grass tufts, flowers, and berry bushes littered around the area but they were all wilted and dead. Any colours the plants may have had before were gone, only to be replaced by a deep shades of brown and black. The dead plants surrounded a large, surprisingly organized base camp. It had a shadow manipulator, alchemy engine, crockpots, all the usual things bases had but the area seemed abandoned.

The first thing that came to Wilson’s mind was that the base may have belonged to WX-78. They despised humans so much that they couldn’t even stand living on the surface with the rest of the survivors. They probably moved and didn’t live at this base anymore, though. Everything looked like it hadn’t been touched in a long while.

With the lack of danger, along with the structures that could assist him in crafting what he needed to for his machine, Wilson concluded that this area would be great to build in. Wilson made quick work laying out his tools and supplies for easy access. Laying his blueprint out, he went over it a few times to make sure he knew exactly what to use to begin building.

Wilson was quick to grab his materials and make haste. He got a relatively good start, managing to get the framework done for a few of the parts he needed to build. The work was hard. He had gotten a few splinters and cuts while building, which annoyed him greatly, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the other hardships he had faced in the Constant.

Wilson was now hunched over his tools, staring down at them as he tried to figure out what part of the machine he wanted to prepare the framework for next. Deciding he’d need to chop a few logs up to prepare a leg that’d hold up part of his machine, Wilson grabbed one of the axes he brought, standing up afterwards. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to working, Wilson froze. 

He heard a loud, booming voice. A voice he hadn’t heard in a very, very long time. “FLESHLING.”

Wilson had no clue how to react. He hadn’t expected to hear a voice like that. He hadn’t expected WX-78 to be lurking around these parts of the caves. Didn’t they have a base elsewhere? Wilson was almost certain this base was abandoned. Nervous of the consequences of ignoring WX-78, Wilson slowly turned himself around to face the robot, dropping his axe to the ground.

WX-78 had plenty of scratches and small dents in them, though with the dangerousness of the caves, Wilson wasn’t exactly too surprised. Despite that, WX seemed to have held up strong and their bitter, strong hate for living creatures seemed to never falter. The robot gave Wilson a rude glare, beginning to speak again, “FLESHLING, EXPLAIN YOUR TRESPASSING.”

Right. Wilson swallowed the lump in his throat and tried his best to muster up an answer. “I- uh… w-well- WX- You see…- I uh-”

WX-78 seemed unamused as they watched Wilson constantly fumble over his words. Taking a step closer to the nervous “scientist”, WX placed their hands on their hips and spoke much louder, seeming infuriated. “FLESHLING! I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO TRESPASSING!”

WX-78 reached into his backpack and pulled out a long, black, semi-transparent sword. Yep, that was most definitely a dark sword. Fuck. WX raised the sword up, it pointed towards Wilson’s chest. Knowing the robots typically destructive intentions, Wilson was sure they wouldn’t hesitate to stab him.

“H-Hey! Hey, hey!” Wilson quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat, trying to not look as nervous as he actually was. “WX, I didn’t think you lived here!”

“YOU DID NOT THINK I LIVED HERE? ARE YOU STUPID, FLESHLING? WHO AM I KIDDING, OF COURSE YOU ARE! HOW DID YOU  _ NOT _ THINK I LIVED HERE?” the robot thrusted their sword in Wilson’s direction as they spoke, the sword just barely missing it’s intended target.

“I thought the base was abandoned,” Wilson stated, slowly backing away from WX-78. “All the plants are dead.”

“OF COURSE, THE PLANTS ARE DEAD!” WX repeated. “I. KILLED. THEM.” they punctuated each word with an attempt to jab their sword into Wilson’s chest, though the latter managed to swiftly dodge each hit.

“I WILL NOT LET A FLESHLING LIKE YOU RUIN MY BASE!” surprisingly, WX-78 didn’t try to stab Wilson when they spoke. Nonetheless, they sounded as infuriated as a soulless automation could manage to.

“I’m not trying to ruin your base,” Wilson said. “I’m trying to build a machine and your base is the safest place I can build it.”

The word machine seemed to have caught WX’s attention. “A MACHINE?” they repeated, lowering their sword. Their anger seemed to have faltered slightly.

“Yes!” Wilson exclaimed with a confident grin. Running over to where the blueprint had been laid out, he pointed down at it. “Take a look!”

Wilson was a little surprised at how quick his confidence had rushed back to him, but it was probably only because he was excited to show off his plan to someone, especially if he knew that someone wouldn’t tell any of the other survivors about it. He began to speak again, “I have made a blueprint for it.”

WX-78 carelessly sauntered over to the blueprint, staring down at it with squinted eyes. “AND WHAT EXACTLY DOES THIS MACHINE DO, FLESHLING?”

“It allows travel between the Constants!” Wilson claimed.

WX-78 kept their gaze locked on the sloppily drawn blueprint for a few long, quiet seconds before they looked over to Wilson with a face of curiosity and suspicion. “TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR MACHINE, FLESHLING. HOW DOES IT WORK?”

And with that, Wilson started telling WX-78 about his magnificent creation. At first, he seemed to just be giving a brief overview of what everything did but the brief overview quickly turned into endless rambling, Wilson telling WX-78 every single small detail about what every single little part of the machine did and how it would contribute to Constant travel. WX, though they did listen attentively, was kind of annoyed with how long the scientist was taking to explain his machine. Despite that, the machine did intrigue the robot. A machine that could allow travel between Constants? That was surely  _ something _ WX could mess with,  _ something _ that could screw over the fleshling a little. They would love to see that fleshlings misery.

“...and the electrical doodads help power it all up and-”

“CAN IT. I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH, FLESHLING.” WX-78 slapped their cold metal hand over Wilson’s mouth, effectively shutting him up. WX continued to speak, “I WILL ALLOW YOU TO BUILD THE MACHINE HERE.”

WX then took their hand off of Wilson’s mouth, allowing him to speak. He looked very surprised at first but he quickly put on his best smile and nodded towards the soulless automation. “Thank you very much.”

“DON’T MENTION IT.” WX said. “I’M BEING SERIOUS, DON’T.”

“I never planned to.” Wilson stated, nodding again.

“GOOD, NOW GET OUT.” WX-78 crossed his arms.

“But I’m building.” Wilson gestured frantically towards what he had built so far.

“LEAVE IT, YOU CAN COME BACK SOME OTHER TIME. I’VE DEALT WITH YOU ENOUGH FOR ONE DAY, FLESHLING.” WX-78 looked annoyed at Wilson.

As much as Wilson wanted to argue about why he should be allowed to stay for at least a little longer, he didn’t want to do anything that would make the robot take back what they said about letting Wilson build at their base. Gathering up what he would need back on the surface, he waved goodbye to WX-78, though the latter only gave an unamused glare in response.

* * *

It didn’t take that long to get to the surface, especially since Wilson’s map now had the directions he’d need to get there relatively safely. By the time he got back up to the surface, it was midday. No one seemed to have noticed he had been gone, which sent a small wave of relief through Wilson.

Just as he was about to make his way back to his base, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Turning on his heel, Wilson saw Wes standing in front of him with a soft smile on his face. Wilson hadn’t interacted much with Wes in the past, so it felt a bit awkward to be alone with him. Wes stared up at Wilson for a few short seconds, quietly.

“Hey, Wes.” Wilson decided to start off what would probably be a very one-sided conversation, considering Wes never spoke.

Wes smiled a little wider, giving Wilson a small wave before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a makeshift envelope that was sealed by a stamp made of beeswax and flower petals. Wilson took the letter from Wes, staring down at it. Before he could focus too much on the letter, he noticed Wes staring down into the sinkhole that lead to the caves. 

“Wes?” Wilson began. “Are you going down there?”

Wes nodded, making Wilson a bit puzzled. “But why?” he asked.

Wes pulled out a second envelope from his pocket, along with a gear. That made it quite easy for Wilson to put two and two together. “You’re going to go give an envelope to WX?”

Wes nodded, seeming happy with how quick Wilson understood his intentions. 

“Alright, good luck. Be careful.” Wilson said.

Wes nodded before he entered the sinkhole, beginning to walk down the stairs that lead to the caves. 

Wilson then began to walk in the direction of his base again, hoping he got no more distractions. He opened the envelope he was given, pulling out the paper within it. Scrawled onto the paper was an invitation.

_ Dear Wilson, _

_ I am hosting a feast in 9 days and I would love it if you joined me. Everyone else is going. _

_ Bring food if you can, anything helps. _

_ Hope to see you there, _

_ Wes. _

Oh.

Oh! There’s going to be a feast! Wilson loved feasts. Everyone was always there and he could talk about all of his amazing achievements. Achievements such as…

_ BUILDING THE MACHINE! _

Oh, this was great, Wilson could show off his machine at the feast! Everyone would be so proud of him, even Warly. Warly would finally trust him! How could you not trust someone who would give you a gift as great as being able to go to another Constant to see your old friends again?

Surely, Wilson could finish the machine in nine days, he just had to work very hard. He was a magnificently hard worker, always dedicated to his craft. All he needed now was a way to get his machine from the caves to the surface. He could build a trolley, perhaps? Yeah, a trolley sounded great, he just needed to build a very large, sturdy one that could carry a machine like his.

Wilson smiled to himself, excited for the coming days and especially excited for the day of the feast. He would finally be able to show off arguably his greatest creation to everybody. He would finally be able to prove to everybody what an amazing scientist he was, what an amazing  _ person _ he was!

All he had to do now was build and wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if the grammar is kind of wonky near the end, I wrote it today and I wasn't exactly on my A game with writing.


End file.
